Cooling Herbal Teas

Cooling Herbal Teas

My mini fridge is crammed with various size and shape jars. I love herbal ice teas. The summer is peaking here on the islands and I’m creating a steady supply of iced plant elixirs keeping me cool and nourished. Herbal brews is my current creative outlet.

rustic deck top kitchen becomes my brewing den. I put on music, drink a pleasant plant tea and create. Both burners, on my mini gas stove and the crockpot are steeping various plant combinations.

During the stifling days I happily posses an abundance of iced brews to choose from. The jars are filled with at wide range of colors~ amber, pale yellow, emerald greens and dark brown. Each posses its unique therapeutic qualities.

These include deep sleep, rejuvenation, calming and aphrodisiac blends. In this blog i’d love to share two recipes to help lower body heat for the summer. Recently my being has shown signs of excess heat. I feel

red in the face or eyes, anger, headaches and constant thirst. Herbal treatment is one of the many ways to reduce heat and bring the body back to balance.

Chrysanthemum has been used for thousand of years in the east for its remarkable ability to cool body heat and the related conditions. Other cooling plants include Peppermint, Chamomile, Goji berries, Eucalyptus, Tumeric, Aloe, Neem and Hibiscus.

This summer i love experimenting with these plants and creating various therapeutic brews.

~ Here are two cooling herbal tea recipes I love:

Chamomile & Chrysanthemum Brew

1 c. and half pure water 2 tbs. Chamomile 6 flowers 1 tbs raw honey or sweetener of choice and some nut milk (Optional). *Heat water to an almost boil and add herbs. Lower heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Strain and add your favorite sweetener.

Yet, if you cant find fresh mint you may replace with 2 tablespoons dried mint.*This recipe may be made stove top or through sun infusion:

Stove top: Bring water to a boil and turn off heat. Soak mint in covered pot for 15 minutes, and strain. After brew cools to luke warm add sweetener and lemon. Allow tea to chill in the refrigerator before enjoying. ( I prefer this tea extra sweet so, I add stevia in addition to the honey. I choose to keep my sugar intake low, my reason for not using honey exclusively.)

Sun Infusion: Soak mint in mason jar in direct sunlight for a minimum of 2 hours. Strain and add sweetener and lemon. Allow brew to chill in fridge to desire temperature.